November 17, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices in October

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.2 percent in October, following a 0.5 percent increase in September. For the 12-month period ended in October, the CPI-U increased 3.4 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

Deceleration in the energy index—up 0.2 percent in October, following a 3.8 percent rise in September—was largely responsible for the moderation in the October CPI-U. The food index, which increased 0.2 percent in September, rose 0.1 percent in October. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent, following a 0.3 percent rise in September. A smaller increase in apparel prices and a downturn in the tobacco index were principally responsible for the more moderate advance in October.

During the first 10 months of 2000, the CPI-U rose at a 3.6 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This compares with an increase of 2.7 percent for all of 1999.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in Consumer Price Indexes, October 2000, news release USDL 00-336.